In Committee for Sound Water & Land Development v. City of Seaside (2022) 79 Cal.App.5th 389, the Sixth District Court of Appeal upheld the trial court’s finding that a CEQA challenge to a proposal to develop a large “Mixed-Use Urban Village” on the former Fort Ord military base (Project) was time-barred. The Court also found
In the Department of Water Resources Cases (2021) 69 Cal.App.5th 265, the Third District Court of Appeal, in a partially published opinion, found that the Legislature did not expressly waive the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR’s) sovereign immunity with respect to geotechnical drilling and boring when the Legislature enacted a statute requiring each county to adopt well protection ordinances that meet or exceed DWR’s standards.
Between 2008 and 2009, as part of an effort to improve statewide water supply reliability and restore the ecosystem and native fish populations of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta), DWR filed more than 150 separate petitions in superior court seeking entry onto privately owned properties in five counties—including the County of Sacramento (County). Specifically, DWR sought entry to conduct environmental and geologic studies involving drilling deep holes or borings to determine subsoil conditions.